What care costs for a preschooler and for two children, county by county, and how it compares with what families here earn.
Full-time care for a 4-year-old costs about $10,290 a year in the typical county in Alaska, or $858 a month, 28.0% more than the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $19,915 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 12.6% of median family income in the typical county.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services counts child care as affordable when it takes no more than 7% of family income. For one 4-year-old, none of Alaska's 30 counties meet that at the median family income; nationally, 259 of 3,131 counties do. In the budget EPI draws up for two parents and two children, child care is 15.6% of the total in the typical county. In 1 county, care for one preschooler costs more than the family's housing.
Build a budget with your own child care cost, or see the rest of what Alaska costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Anchorage Municipality ($17,627), Copper River Census Area ($17,220) and Fairbanks North Star Borough ($16,125), and least in Kusilvak Census Area ($8,569), Lake and Peninsula Borough ($8,745) and Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area ($8,801). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Aleutians East Borough | $9,885 | $824 | $18,855 | 12.5% |
| Aleutians West Census Area | $11,746 | $979 | $22,404 | 9.3% |
| Anchorage Municipality | $17,627 | $1,469 | $25,067 | 14.8% |
| Bethel Census Area | $11,330 | $944 | $21,611 | 15.3% |
| Bristol Bay Borough | $9,735 | $811 | $18,568 | 8.6% |
| Chugach Census Area | $10,359 | $863 | $19,758 | 9.8% |
| Copper River Census Area | $17,220 | $1,435 | $25,395 | 17.4% |
| Denali Borough | $9,651 | $804 | $18,407 | 7.1% |
| Dillingham Census Area | $9,674 | $806 | $18,453 | 12.7% |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough | $16,125 | $1,344 | $25,952 | 15.2% |
| Haines Borough | $13,529 | $1,127 | $29,141 | 13.4% |
| Hoonah-Angoon Census Area | $9,894 | $825 | $18,872 | 11.5% |
| Juneau City and Borough | $15,662 | $1,305 | $30,388 | 13.2% |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough | $13,664 | $1,139 | $24,615 | 13.2% |
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough | $9,367 | $781 | $18,914 | 8.5% |
| Kodiak Island Borough | $14,090 | $1,174 | $28,971 | 13.5% |
| Kusilvak Census Area | $8,569 | $714 | $16,344 | 17.3% |
| Lake and Peninsula Borough | $8,745 | $729 | $16,681 | 13.2% |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough | $14,062 | $1,172 | $23,931 | 13.2% |
| Nome Census Area | $10,517 | $876 | $20,061 | 13.9% |
| North Slope Borough | $11,032 | $919 | $21,042 | 11.7% |
| Northwest Arctic Borough | $11,864 | $989 | $22,629 | 14.8% |
| Petersburg Borough | $9,745 | $812 | $18,588 | 10.3% |
| Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area | $8,801 | $733 | $16,788 | 11.5% |
| Sitka City and Borough | $10,221 | $852 | $23,153 | 9.0% |
| Skagway Municipality | $10,664 | $889 | $20,340 | 8.4% |
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area | $9,598 | $800 | $18,590 | 10.8% |
| Wrangell City and Borough | $9,242 | $770 | $17,628 | 12.5% |
| Yakutat City and Borough | $10,221 | $852 | $19,769 | 9.4% |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | $9,160 | $763 | $17,472 | 14.5% |
Click a column to sort it. The share compares care for one 4-year-old with the county's median family income. A dash means EPI publishes no income figure for that county.
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